Bladed axes
Bladed axes are a type of overhead weapon specialised in dealing powerful chopping blows to opponents. The pioneer of this weapon type was House Robot Shunt, who would earn fame for his diamond-edged (later titanium) axe in later series. The first competitor robot to feature a bladed axe in Robot Wars was Killerhurtz in Series 2, although it was later replaced with its more famous spiked axe, while other notable robots with this weapon type include its successor, Terrorhurtz, The Steel Avenger, and the 2016 series version of Thor. Definition Bladed axes typically feature an axe head with a blade featuring a much larger surface area than a spiked axe, which aim to provide a larger area of attack. They are specialised to chop, pound, bend, hack and shake components and armour loose rather than pierce through them, and are among some of the most common types seen in everyday usage - for example, fireaxes which are used to chop wood. Bladed axes come in various shapes and sizes, from fireaxe-style chopping blades, as originally used by Killerhurtz, to curved blades with a spiked tip, as seen on The Steel Avenger, and even double-headed blades as used by Terrorhurtz and the Series 3 competitor Shell Shock. Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages *Alongside hammers, bladed axes are more readily available than most other types of weapons, as they can be collected from any hardware or DIY store. *With their large surface area, bladed axes are the most effective type of overhead weapons for use as a self-righting mechanism, provided that there is sufficient power behind the axe to achieve this. Terrorhurtz and the 2016 series Thor demonstrated this capability quite effectively several times. *A powerful bladed axe can serve as an efficient cross between a spiked axe and a hammer, being able to cause both external and internal damage with equal efficiency. Terrorhurtz demonstrated this effectively in its Series 6 Semi-Final fight against Spawn Again, as did Thor in the 2016 series, the latter puncturing holes through M.R. Speed Squared's armour and hacking off Shockwave's scoop during their respective Head-to-Head battles. *Successful axe blows always score well on control and aggression, and bladed axes tend to show more aggression than their spiked counterparts. This is perhaps best shown in The Steel Avenger's victory over Shredder Evolution in Series 7, and in Thor's victory over Shockwave in their Head to Head battle in the 2016 series. Disadvantages *A bladed axe is less effective as a knock-out weapon than a spiked axe, as it does not put out the kinetic energy into a point needed to damage vital components in the same way that spiked axes could, and require a lot more power to do so. Shunt and Terrorhurtz were the only two robots to immobilise another with a bladed axe in the original series of Robot Wars, and it was not until the show's hiatus that other robots with bladed axes became more effective over time. *A bladed axe largely specialises in knocking internal components loose, and is not as effective at causing visible damage as its spiked counterpart. As a result, it can become ineffective against robots with strong armour and chassis. Terrorhurtz and The Steel Avenger were unable to cause any damage to Tornado and Storm 2, respectively. *Most bladed axes only functioned in one specific direction - usually forwards - compounding the accuracy issues regarding this and all other overhead weapon types. Terrorhurtz's axe is a notable exception, as it was designed to be double-headed in order to strike from both the front and back of the machine. *If pneumatically-powered, bladed axes can also fail to self-right if the weapon is low on CO2, or if the pneumatics system is damaged or malfunctioning. This was especially apparent in the defeats of Terrorhurtz, Glitterbomb and Thor throughout the 2016 series, with all of them not being able to self-right at various stages due to problems with their pneumatics systems or their CO2 supplies freezing in cold temperatures. List of Robots with Bladed Axes Robots are listed alphabetically. Non-heavyweights are listed with a green background. Category:Weapon Types Category:Robots with Bladed Axes